What’s Happening

Nature Deficit Disorder with Richard Louv

In Conversation with Dawn Scott
Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 8:00 pm
Herbst Theatre in San Francisco

Richard Louv will be in the Bay Area on April 24th for a talk in conversation with Dawn Scott at City Arts and Lectures at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Richard’s newest book The Nature Principle, offers a vision of the future where lives are as immersed in nature as they are in technology in order to promote better physical, psychological and spiritual health. Dawn Scott works and practices at Spirit Rock, a dharma center dedicated to reconnecting humans to themselves, to nature, and to life itself through silence and mindful attention.

Richard Louv's New Book, The Nature Principle

Richard Louv was in the Bay Area a few weeks ago for the start of his book tour for The Nature Principle, now available in Bay Area book stores. Rich makes the case that we are entering the most creative point in history, that in fact the twenty first century will be the era of human restoration in the natural world. Some of us are determined to finish reading this book by the May 26th forum. The following is an excerpt from the book. 

While the study of the relationship between mental acuity, creativity, and time spent outdoors is still a frontier for science, new data suggests that exposure to the living world can even ehance intelligence. At least two factors are involved: first, oursenses and sensibilities can be improved by spending time in nature; second, the natural environment seems to stimulate our ability to pay attention, think clearly, and be more creative.  

I believe the future can be shaped by what I call the Nature Principle which holds that in an age of environmental, economic, and social transformation, the future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of nature and balance the virtual with the real.  

The skeptic will say that this prescription is at best problematic, given the rate at which we're destroying nature, and the skeptic is right. This is why the Nature Principle is about conservation but also about restoring ourselves while we restore nature; about bringing back natural habitats where they once existed or creating them where they never were—in our homes, workplaces, cities, and suburbs. It's about the power of living in nature—not with it, but in it.   The more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need.

– Richard Louv, The Nature Principle